A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

the voice again, he was to remain where he was and respond with the words, “Speak, Lord, for
Your servant hears” (v. 9). It seemed like an unusual response, but Samuel was in the habit of
obeying Eli. He made his way back to bed. Again, the voice called out, but this time Samuel
responded as Eli had instructed him. “And the Lord said to Samuel, `Behold, I will do something
in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle’ “ (v. 11).
As the Lord revealed His plan of action to Samuel, the sleepy boy became increasingly
wider-awake. By the time the Lord had concluded His message, Samuel was wider-awake than
he had ever been before at that hour of the night. It was not the kind of message he wanted to
relate to Eli, yet somehow he knew Eli was going to ask. How could he tell the old priest who
had raised him as a son that God was going to destroy the family of Eli? He knew Eli himself
was concerned about the growing evil of his sons Hophni and Phinehas, but the time to settle
accounts had come, according to God. In a single day, the line of the priesthood of Eli would
come to an end. He was really afraid to tell Eli.
As the sun rose the next morning, Samuel ran to open the doors of the tabernacle, as was
his usual custom. There was only one course of action to follow. Samuel would do his best to
avoid Eli all day. That way, Eli would not ask about the message and Samuel would not have to
be the bearer of bad tidings. But that plan of action was doomed to failure before it had even
been implemented. No sooner had Samuel opened the doors when he heard the familiar voice of
Eli calling him.
“Perhaps Eli will forget about the confusion of last night and not ask,” Samuel hoped as
he responded to Eli’s call. Eli remembered and asked. There was nothing Samuel could do but
tell Eli the message the whole message. As much as he wanted to spare Eli the pain of knowing
God was going to judge his family so severely, Samuel knew he would be less than faithful if he
hid anything.
As he told Eli the news, Eli seemed to understand. The old priest was not angry with
Samuel. It was almost as though he had anticipated the message before he heard it from Samuel.
Eli and his family had drifted a long way from where they should have been spiritually, but he
knew he deserved all he was hearing and more. “It is the Lord,” he concluded passively. “Let
Him do what seems good to Him” (v. 18).
That would not be the last time young Samuel would hear from God. Very soon Samuel’s
reputation as a budding prophet spread throughout the land from Dan to Beersheba. Whenever
Samuel related a message from the Lord, things happened exactly as he said they would. There
had not been anything like it in the land for a long time. Samuel was gathering a national
following. “Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in
Shiloh by the word of the Lord. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel” (3:21-4:1).
THE ARK TAKEN BY THE PHILISTINES
(1 Sam. 4:2-6:21)
After Eli’s death, Samuel became the spiritual leader of the nation. He had a tent at
Shiloh and he could offer sacrifices for the nation, but the Ark of the Covenant was in enemy
hands. How could the presence of God dwell in a heathen nation?
After defeating Israel, the Philistines had Israel’s ark of God and carried it proudly back
to Ashdod. It was more than just a gold-plated box to them. It was proof they were the mightiest
army on the face of the earth. They were mighty enough to capture the mightiest of gods among
the nations. It was the physical evidence that proved their god Dagon was stronger than even the
mysterious gods of the Israelites.